10 reasons your bank should be livestreaming

Livestreaming can be a way to reach out to customers who really want to get to know you.

In today’s market, the consumer demands three things from companies: authenticity, consistency, and timeliness—all of which can be achieved, cost-effectively, by livestreaming.

Not many brands have successfully harnessed its power, but livestreaming has huge marketing potential. Here are ten benefits of livestreaming as told by three companies who’ve found success with this new marketing tool.

1. Authenticity. Many companies struggle to express themselves as a brand in a way that doesn’t sound buried in marketing jargon.

Could you imagine if you met someone for a date who talked about themselves the way they wrote their professional bio? Yawn.

With livestreaming, companies can personalize their brand and give customers an inside look at who they really are. Dunkin’ Donuts was one of the first brands to successfully use livestreaming when it gave fans a behind-the-scenes look into its test kitchen and showed the preparation of a giant cake made of heart-shaped donuts for Valentine’s Day.

Sharing the food-making process and introducing a handful of chefs allowed Dunkin’ Donuts to connect with its customers on an entirely new and 100%-authentic level.

2. Consistency. Customer retention revolves around a company’s ability to consistently follow through with promises. In today’s economy, customer service is a dog-eat-dog world. Businesses are always looking for ways to prove why ABC is better than XYZ.

In order to stay ahead of the game and truly earn customers, brands must provide efficient knock-their-socks-off service.

The San Francisco-based maker of skin care and makeup products, Benefit Cosmetics, does just that every week on its livestreamed show “Tipsy Tricks.” In the show, the host and guest drink cocktails while sharing the latest beauty hacks and answering questions from the audience.

This weekly livestream is an innovative approach to gain the upper hand over competitors by sharing the high-quality content customers expect in an exciting, tangible way.

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3. Timeliness. In terms of product launches, timing is everything.

A company well known for successfully marrying these two concepts is Apple. Each September, the company holds its Keynote livestream to showcase its new line of products, garnering millions of viewers every year.

One of the most interesting parts of livestreaming is its ability to create a community in a matter of minutes. Apple is an excellent example of a brand that has learned to dominate the market through its ever-growing community of brand loyalists.

4. Get a peek inside. Get a view inside the company. Be able to chat and interact with real people. People with hopes, dreams, and money goals just like you and me.

5. Next level of content. People have seen articles with logos over and over again. They want more. They want their content to be taken to the next level: real-time feedback and interaction that only livestreaming can provide.

6. Interact with customers. Social media is the only touchpoint for banks where you can have a conversation with a brand. Traditional advertising is like going on a date and having the other person talk only about themselves.

Livestreaming amplifies this by allowing your bank to chat and show its true personality like no other medium can.

7. Audience. An audience that is live is obviously better than one that is consuming your content on their own time. Going to a concert with other roaring fans with drinks versus listening to a band in your living room in PJs with all your stuffed animals, is a different experience.

Live is better!

8. Face to face. The best way to date is face to face. Online dating can be going smashingly until you meet in person and your date has a rusty hook for a hand or googly eyes. Face to face is the best way to interact with any customer or date. You can provide real feedback, offers, and product information as your ideal customers interact with you. What is better than that?

9. Save money. You’ll save a ton of money on promoting your content when they come to you. Provide amazing content and they’ll keep coming back for more.

10. Best customers. When you livestream, you have access to only your target market since they have invested time to watch and they must be interested in your product or service.

There was a time when social media sites like Facebook and Twitter were optional for brands, but now social presence has become so integrated into a brand’s success that it would be difficult to separate the two.

Livestreaming has the same potential and as its popularity continues to rise, it will only be a matter of time till we see another shift in marketing strategies.

David Lester is managing director and U.S. finance lead at Brightworks Interactive Marketing. Lester's concept of making bank apps more like Fitbits was discussed in the Counterintuitive section of the June/July 2017 Banking Exchange, "Time for a 'banker on your wrist?". Lester is the author of several books and blogs on iheartmoney.ca. His formal biography has this to say about his interest in things financial:

"Nothing makes my heart go 'thump' like banking and the finance industry. When I was a little 'ankle biter', I always wanted to be the Sheriff of Nottingham vs. Robin Hood, like all the other kids, because he got to collect all the taxes and keep them. My mom says that my first word was 'penny.' No childhood would have prepared me for a career in advertising for banks!

"My passion for banking and finance led me to spend seven years client side at Merrill Lynch and the BMO Financial Group, and then to advertising for great brands like the Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Fidelity Investments, and more.

"Having been a banker myself, I was able to use my keen understanding of products and services to help develop 360 brand campaigns that included a robust digital content program to help customers be smart with their money. Being able to make the complexity of banking digestible for people makes me a great marketer and it’s why I love working at Brightworks with our great clients.

"My passion for the finance industry and helping clients spills over into my personal life where I write for the Huffington Post, Askmen.com, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, among others. I’ve even published two personal finance books that have been big hits with everyday people."